Page 7 of Trial and Error

“Look,” he says as he turns my hand over in his and gives a squeeze. “It’s all well and good worrying about whether it will or won’t work, but it’s not something we know for certain. One date, Bridget. That’s all I’ve ever asked for. I’m not asking you to step in and tackle parenthood with me. I just want a chance to show you how good we could be together.”

After a moment, I slowly nod, and the smile that takes over his angular face is nothing short of beautiful. “One date, and we’ll go from there.”

Malik leans forward and presses a chaste kiss against my cheek. “We’ll go from there,” he repeats.

Asha looks up at the two of us and wrinkles her nose, her green eyes twinkling with warmth just like her father’s. “Kissing in public is gross,” she comments as she shakes her head and looks back down at the peacock she’s colouring.

I huff out a laugh as I tear off a piece of the cinnamon roll and pop it into my mouth. Malik rolls his eyes at his daughter’s sass, but I see the abundance of love there.

Malik was twenty when he got a one-night stand pregnant. Not long before he found out was when he told me about his feelings, and the two of us had started considering the possibility of us dating, but the positive sign on the stick put a stop to our plans.

It hurt when he told me, and I knew it hurt him. We had been dancing around our feelings for each other for years, and when we finally decided to quit avoiding it, the universe had other plans in mind.

Orla, Malik’s fling, insisted they tried dating to see if they could build a family unit ready for when their baby was born, and they did. They were together for all of eighteen months before Malik found out that she had lied about being on birth control when they hooked up, and he ended things after that. He didn’t trust her not to do it to him again, and even though he never talks to me about it, I get the impression that wasn’t the only thing that led him to his decision.

Unfortunately, Orla has never been my biggest fan, and I worry that if she found out we were dating she would go crazy.

“I hate to cut our pre-date short.” Malik winks. “But I’ve got to get this one back home and packed for a week at her mom’s.”

Asha perks up at that and narrows her eyes. “This one has a name.” She then frowns. “Do I have to go? I don’t want to spend time with Mom and Jamie.”

He mirrors her frown. “I’m sorry, baby, but it’s your mom’s week.” Malik looks at me as he stands. “Do you have plans on Saturday?”

I shake my head. “No plans so far.”

“You do now. I’ll pick you up around seven. We’re going out for dinner.”

“I want to come out for dinner with Bridget, too!” Asha complains as she stuffs her stuff in her backpack.

I stand just as she does and I hold my arms open. She wraps her scrawny arms around my waist and squeezes. “Next time, okay?”

She nods and pulls back. Malik steps up next and pulls me into him. His strong arms wrap around my lower back and I rest against him as he peers down at me. “You’re not going to regret saying yes.”

“Bold,” I tease. “I’m looking forward to it.”

He gives a smirk for my eyes only before he presses his lips to my cheek. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”

I’m in the car driving back to my place when my phone rings.

My sister Natalie’s picture pops up on my cars console, and I answer it immediately.

“Took you long enough,” she quips as soon as I hit the green button.

“I’m driving, sissy,” I hum. “What’s up?”

“I need a huge favour,” Natalie draws out.

I narrow my eyes as I turn down my street. “What kind of favour? I ask, pulling into the empty space along the side of the road. “Is it going to cost me money?”

Natalie’s laughter fills my ears and a smile makes its way onto my face at the melodic sound. “It doesn’t have to.”

I say nothing as I wait for her to continue.

“I need a date to my work’s charity event, and Katherine’s in Istanbul and can’t make it, so you’ll have to do.”

Katherine Geoffery, my sister’s girlfriend of three years, is an absolute angel. They met at a bar in Downtown Briarwood one Friday night, and the rest is history. She’s a makeup artist and tends to travel around to different movie or TV sets which are often in other countries. She can sometimes be gone for months at a time, something I know is hard for my sister.

“When is it? The only day I can’t do is Saturday.”